One-Cocycles and Knot Invariants is about classical knots, i.e., smooth oriented knots in 3-space. It introduces discrete combinatorial analysis in knot theory in order to solve a global tetrahedron equation. This new technique is then used to construct combinatorial 1-cocycles in a certain moduli space of knot diagrams. The construction of the moduli space makes use of the meridian and the longitude of the knot. The combinatorial 1-cocycles are therefore lifts of the well-known Conway polynomial of knots, and they can be calculated in polynomial time. The 1-cocycles can distinguish loops consisting of knot diagrams in the moduli space up to homology. They give knot invariants when they are evaluated on canonical loops in the connected components of the moduli space. They are a first candidate for numerical knot invariants which can perhaps distinguish the orientation of knots.

Traditionally, knot theory deals with diagrams of knots and the search of invariants of diagrams which are invariant under the well known Reidemeister moves. This book goes one step beyond: it gives a method to construct invariants for one parameter famillies of diagrams and which are invariant under 'higher' Reidemeister moves. Luckily, knots in 3-space, often called classical knots, can be transformed into knots in the solid torus without loss of information. It turns out that knots in the solid torus have a particular rich topological moduli space. It contains many 'canonical' loops to which the invariants for one parameter families can be applied, in order to get a new sort of invariants for classical knots.

This book provides an extensive and self-contained presentation of quantum and related invariants of knots and 3-manifolds. Polynomial invariants of knots, such as the Jones and Alexander polynomials, are constructed as quantum invariants, i.e. invariants derived from representations of quantum groups and from the monodromy of solutions to the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equation. With the introduction of the Kontsevich invariant and the theory of Vassiliev invariants, the quantum invariants become well-organized. Quantum and perturbative invariants, the LMO invariant, and finite type invariants of 3-manifolds are discussed. The ChernOCoSimons field theory and the WessOCoZuminoOCoWitten model are described as the physical background of the invariants. Contents: Knots and Polynomial Invariants; Braids and Representations of the Braid Groups; Operator Invariants of Tangles via Sliced Diagrams; Ribbon Hopf Algebras and Invariants of Links; Monodromy Representations of the Braid Groups Derived from the KnizhnikOCoZamolodchikov Equation; The Kontsevich Invariant; Vassiliev Invariants; Quantum Invariants of 3-Manifolds; Perturbative Invariants of Knots and 3-Manifolds; The LMO Invariant; Finite Type Invariants of Integral Homology 3-Spheres. Readership: Researchers, lecturers and graduate students in geometry, topology and mathematical physics."

Surfaces in 4-Space, written by leading specialists in the field, discusses knotted surfaces in 4-dimensional space and surveys many of the known results in the area. Results on knotted surface diagrams, constructions of knotted surfaces, classically defined invariants, and new invariants defined via quandle homology theory are presented. The last chapter comprises many recent results, and techniques for computation are presented. New tables of quandles with a few elements and the homology groups thereof are included. This book contains many new illustrations of knotted surface diagrams. The reader of the book will become intimately aware of the subtleties in going from the classical case of knotted circles in 3-space to this higher dimensional case. As a survey, the book is a guide book to the extensive literature on knotted surfaces and will become a useful reference for graduate students and researchers in mathematics and physics.

The volume is focused on the basic calculation skills of various knot invariants defined from topology and geometry. It presents the detailed Hecke algebra and braid representation to illustrate the original Jones polynomial (rather than the algebraic formal definition many other books and research articles use) and provides self-contained proofs of the Tait conjecture (one of the big achievements from the Jones invariant). It also presents explicit computations to the Casson–Lin invariant via braid representations. With the approach of an explicit computational point of view on knot invariants, this user-friendly volume will benefit readers to easily understand low-dimensional topology from examples and computations, rather than only knowing terminologies and theorems. Contents:Basic Knots, Links and Their EquivalencesBraids and LinksKnot and Link InvariantsJones PolynomialsCasson Type Invariants Readership: Undergraduate and graduate students interested in learning topology and low dimensional topology. Key Features:Applies a computational approach to understand knot invariants with geometric meaningsProvides a complete proof of Tait's conjectures from an original Jones polynomial definitionGives recent new knot invariants from the approach of algebraic geometry (characteristic variety)Readers will get a hands-on approach to the topological concepts and various invariant, instead of just knowing more fancy wordsKeywords:Knot Classifications;Tait Conjectures;Reidemeister Moves;Characterization of Braid Representation;Unknotting Number;Bridge Number;Linking Number;Crossing Number;Wirtinger Presentation;Magnus Representation;Twisted Alexander Polynomial;Hecke Algebra;Ocneanu Trace;Jones Polynomial;Kauffman Bracket;Casson Type Invariant

According to string theory, our universe exists in a 10- or 11-dimensional space. However, the idea the space beyond 3 dimensions seems hard to grasp for beginners. This book presents a way to understand four-dimensional space and beyond: with knots! Beginners can see high dimensional space although they have not seen it.With visual illustrations, we present the manipulation of figures in high dimensional space, examples of which are high dimensional knots and n-spheres embedded in the (n+2)-sphere, and generalize results on relations between local moves and knot invariants into high dimensional space.Local moves on knots, circles embedded in the 3-space, are very important to research in knot theory. It is well known that crossing changes are connected with the Alexander polynomial, the Jones polynomial, HOMFLYPT polynomial, Khovanov homology, Floer homology, Khovanov homotopy type, etc. We show several results on relations between local moves on high dimensional knots and their invariants.The following related topics are also introduced: projections of knots, knot products, slice knots and slice links, an open question: can the Jones polynomial be defined for links in all 3-manifolds? and Khovanov-Lipshitz-Sarkar stable homotopy type. Slice knots exist in the 3-space but are much related to the 4-dimensional space. The slice problem is connected with many exciting topics: Khovanov homology, Khovanv-Lipshits-Sarkar stable homotopy type, gauge theory, Floer homology, etc. Among them, the Khovanov-Lipshitz-Sarkar stable homotopy type is one of the exciting new areas; it is defined for links in the 3-sphere, but it is a high dimensional CW complex in general.Much of the book will be accessible to freshmen and sophomores with some basic knowledge of topology.

Dedicated to the memory of the late Professor Zbigniew Oziewicz from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, the book consists of papers on a wide variety of topics related to the work of Professor Oziewicz, which were presented at the special conference on Graph-Operads-Logic (GOL 2021), selected through peer review to promote his scientific legacy.Professor Oziewicz was a great enthusiast and supporter of category theory and its applications in physics, as well as in various areas of mathematics (topology, noncommutative geometry, etc.). In particular, he made significant contributions to the theory of Frobenius algebras, which now are becoming more important due to their connection with topological quantum field theories that are used in mathematical physics and in quantum topology. Professor Oziewicz was a great and very generous teacher, who immersed his students in the beautiful ideas of category theory as well as mathematical physics and computation. It was his idea to start a series of conferences under the title Graphs-Operads-Logic, most of them held in Mexico, with some of them in the USA, which were a great platform to discuss various ideas connected with category theory and its various applications, and to make friends with other scientists. Despite his passing, the GOL 2021 conference is included in this series to pay tribute to his many contributions to diverse areas of science.The book is laid out in twelve main topics where we can find relevant works from distinguished experts.